Heretofore there have been many different types of case packers provided and most of these case packers have worked on the principle of providing a stream of the articles to be packaged moving along a controlled route, grouping the articles into a case packing relation and withdrawing the support for the grouped articles whereby they drop down into an associated case. Normally the case is provided by a supply conveyor and it is elevated to a position immediately below the grid for receipt of the articles collected thereon and dropped therethrough into the case.
Such prior type of case packer requires that the case be supplied to a given lift mechanism, the lift mechanism be actuated to engage the case with drop fingers depending from the grid, the articles be dropped from the grid into the case, the lifter mechanism be lowered, and the case be started on its way for further processing while the grid is being recharged with a new group of articles for case packing action.
It has been believed that faster and more accurate case packing actions can be obtained if the cases are moved along on a horizontal path and the articles to be packaged would be dropped down into these cases while positioned below the grid article assemblying apparatus. Such type of an apparatus might involve vertical movement of the article carrying grid into the case because dependent spring drop fingers must be associated with the articles as they are deposited into a case and such drop fingers must extend down into the case pockets for guiding the articles properly for deposit action. Hence, it has been necessary to either move the grid with relation to the case so that its dependent fingers would engage the case, or in a more logical approach to the problem, an intermediate auxiliary or lower grid has been provided between the main grid and the case for vertical movement down into the case for final article guide action and then to bring such lower grid upwardly out of engagement with the case to release the same for further processing. By such type of an apparatus, the cases are not required to be lifted while case filling action is secured and a more rapid or dependable case filling action may be obtainable.
In prior work done in the case packer field, U.S. Pat. No. 2,686,623 on a different style case packer was noted. This case packer has an upper grid means with dependent drop fingers and an auxiliary grid is present with drop fingers depending therefrom. The auxiliary grid can be brought up immediately adjacent the upper grid to nest the fingers together and then it can be lowered vertically to insert the fingers from the lower grid into an associated case for article deposit action in a completely guided and controlled manner. Somewhat similar apparatus is also provided in U.S. Pat. No. 2,735,599 wherein a grid has dependent drop fingers and the grid can be moved vertically on slide rods in the apparatus. Hence, an article deposit action is obtained by grid vertical movement rather than by any case lifting action.
The general object of the present invention is to provide an improved case packer apparatus which is quite rapid in operation and which will set up and control a guided drop of the articles into cases to fill the same.
Another object of the invention is to use an upper grid and a lower grid in a case packer apparatus and to move the lower grid vertically in the apparatus position down into a case engaging position at substantially the same time that articles are released by the upper grid for gravity deposit down into the case.
Other objects of the invention are to provide dependent drop fingers on an upper grid and a lower grid, which drop fingers will nest vertically into each other by a relative telescopic motion therebetween; to provide an improved case stop apparatus in case packer means for retarding forward movement of a case when at the case filling station; to provide a relatively uncomplicated case packer apparatus having improved properties; to make the apparatus readily variable for handling cases of different sizes or numbers of articles or different grouping relationships of the articles; and to provide an apparatus which is mechanically dependable and can function operatively for an extended service life with a minimum of maintenance.